The New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2013. A statewide primary took place on June 4, 2013. On election day, polls were open 6:00 am until 8:00 pm EST.

Kim Guadagno (R) is the Garden State's first ever lieutenant governor. The position was created as the result of a constitutional amendment passed by New Jersey voters on November 8, 2005. In New Jersey, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on a single ticket in the general election. Following the primary elections, gubernatorial candidates have 30 days to select a running mate.

Christie and DemocratBarbara Buono easily won their respective party's primary on June 4, 2013. While Christie had already decided on running with Guadagno prior to the primary, Buono waited until July 29, 2013 to formally announce her choice of union leader Milly Silva as her running mate.[1] The two-woman ticket faced incumbent Republican pairing Christie and Guadagno plus a handful of third party opponents in the general election contest which took place November 5, 2013.[2] As expected, the incumbent duo of Christie and Guadagno easily won the election with 60.5% of the vote.[3]

Deadline

Event

April 1

Last day to file candidacy

May 14

Voter registration for primary election

June 4

Primary election

June 10

Last day for independent candidates to file for general election

Nov. 5

General election

Results

General election

On November 5, 2013, Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno (R) won re-election as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. They defeated the Buono/Silva (D), Kaplan/Bell (L), Welzer/Alessandrini (I), Sare/Todd (I), Araujo/Salamanca (I), Schroeder/Moschella (I) and Boss/Thorne (I) ticket(s) in the general election.

Democratic candidates

Republican candidates

Former potential candidates

Cory Booker - Mayor of Newark Cory Booker declined to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2013, opting instead to finish his mayoral term and lay the groundwork for a U.S. Senate bid in 2014.[9][10]

Richard Codey - State Sen. Richard Cody announced on Jan. 25 that a gubernatorial campaign would not serve the best interests of his family; he plans to run for re-election to the State Senate in 2013.[11][5]

Race background

Election rating

In November 2012, the New Jersey gubernatorial election was rated by the Washington Post as one of the top five races to watch in 2013.[18] Christie's high-wattage presence notwithstanding, the contest never rose to the level of excitement originally anticipated. This was due in part to the decision of former Newark Mayor Cory Booker to run for U.S. Senate rather than attempt to oust Christie in 2013. Booker had long been considered the Democratic front-runner and best hope to take on the juggernaut incumbent, until announcing his - ultimately winning - Senate bid, and leaving comparatively unknown Democrats on their own to face Christie, whose upward career trajectory and bipartisan appeal made him a formidable opponent in the election.[19]

Primaries

Incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono each faced a single challenger in the primary election on June 4, although neither presented a substantial challenge at the polls: Christie and Buono won their respective party nominations with roughly 90 percent of the vote.[20][21]

Former Atlantic City Councilman Seth Grossman was the sole Republican to brave a run against the popular first-term governor, whose profile rose following the response to Hurricane Sandy. Grossman's campaign criticized Christie for being overly moderate, while Buono's opponent Troy Webster, advisor to the mayor of East Orange, believed he was uniquely suited to making New Jersey friendlier to "the working poor and middle class families who have been literally 'thrown under the bus.'" Grossman and Webster were endorsed by the weekly publication NJ Today.[22]

Selection of running mates

In New Jersey, gubernatorial candidates have 30 days to select a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate with whom to share their ticket in the general election. Immediately after launching his re-election campaign, Christie secured his running mate, Lt. Gov.Kim Guadagno. Buono, meanwhile, waited until July 29 to formally announce her choice of union leader Milly Silva, the executive vice president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, as her running mate.[23][24] The two-woman ticket went up against incumbent pairing Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno in addition to a number of third-party opponents in the general election contest that took place on November 5, 2013.

Polling

Christie was heavily favored to win re-election, with his campaign raising nearly double that of Buono's in the primary and maintaining a decisive double-digit advantage in the polls throughout the election season.[25][26] In the final week before the general election, Christie boasted a staggering 24.3-point average polling lead.[27] He also had bipartisan support, which was crucial in a state where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by over 700,000, according to party registration statistics provided by the New Jersey Department of State.[28]

Public financing

Since 1977, New Jersey gubernatorial primary and general election candidates can qualify for a public funding program whereby candidates who raise a minimum amount of money are dispensed tax-generated funds, controlled by the state election law enforcement commission, in direct proportion to campaign donations given from the public. In 2013, the qualifying sum for primary gubernatorial candidates was $380,000.[29] The purpose of the program is to lessen the influence of corporate contributions in elections. On February 2, 2013, then-presumptive Democratic nominee Barbara Buono's campaign reported that it had surpassed the $380,000 mark.[30] By that time, Christie's campaign had already raised $2 million. Unlike in 2009, Christie declined to use matching funds in the 2013 primary, but he decided in August to opt into the program for the general election phase. Under the program, Christie became eligible for an additional $8 million, approximately. The terms also required him to participate in two debates with Buono before the general election.[30][31]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

February 2013

A Quinnipiac University Poll released February 20, 2013 reaffirmed incumbent Chris Christie's popularity with New Jersey voters post-Hurricane Sandy. At 74% job approval - "the highest of any New Jersey governor in 17 years of Quinnipiac University
surveys" - and 71-23% believing that Christie deserves to win re-election in 2013, the governor is the clear favorite for the 2013 gubernatorial race.[32] According to the poll, Christie's strength is just one of likely Democratic challenger Barbara Buono's weaknesses heading into the primary election season. In a head-to-head match-up respondents preferred Christie to Buono 62-25, a wide margin that can be partially attributed to her anonymity: 83% of respondents said they did not know enough to form an opinion about Buono. Somewhat ominously for the Buono campaign, this figure indicates that her name recognition diminisheded slightly since voters were last asked to give their opinion of her back in Jan. 2013.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

November 2012 (Post-Sandy)

Hypothetical match-ups for Governor of New jersey

Cory Booker

Richard Codey

Barbara Buono

Lou Greenwald

Tom Byrne

Percent of the vote

34%

31%

22%

21%

22%

Chris Christie's percent of the vote

53%

56%

60%

60%

58%

Undecided

9%

10%

10%

15%

16%

Between November 14-17 2012, Rutgers and the Eagleton Institute of Politics surveyed 1,228 registered New Jersey voters through live telephone interviews. The respondents were given a series of hypothetical match-ups between incumbent Chris Christie and five potential Democratic candidates, and asked which of the two candidates they would vote for in the 2013 election. The margin of error is +/- 2.9%.
[33]

October 2012

Hypothetical match-ups for Governor of New jersey

Cory Booker

Richard Codey

Barbara Buono

Lou Greenwald

Percent of the vote

42%

41%

33%

31%

Chris Christie's percent of the vote

46%

47%

49%

50%

Undecided

11%

11%

17%

17%

Between October 10-14 2012, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,405 registered New Jersey voters through live telephone interviews. The respondents were given a series of hypothetical match-ups between incumbent Chris Christie and four potential Democratic candidates, and asked which of the two candidates they would vote for in the 2013 election. The margin of error is +/- 2.6%. Leading the pack of likely challengers is Mayor of Newark Cory Booker, who trails Christie 46-42. A similar survey conducted in early September had Booker behind seven percentage points.[34][35]

July 2011

Hypothetical match-ups for Governor of New jersey

Cory Booker

Frank Pallone

Bruce Springsteen

Steve Sweeney

Percent of the vote

47%

43%

42%

40%

Chris Christie's percent of the vote

43%

43%

42%

42%

Undecided

10%

14%

15%

18%

Between July 15-18, 2011, Public Policy Polling surveyed 480 New Jersey voters. The respondents were given a series of hypothetical match-ups between incumbent Chris Christie and four potential Democratic candidates, and asked which of the two candidates they would vote for.[36]

Campaign finance

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission administers campaign finance law and maintains all records online.

Public funding program option

Since 1977, New Jersey gubernatorial primary and general election candidates can qualify for a public funding program whereby candidates who raise a minimum amount of money are dispensed tax-generated funds, controlled by the state election law enforcement commission, in direct proportion to campaign donations given from the public. In 2013, the qualifying sum for primary gubernatorial candidates was $380,000.[40] The purpose of the program is to lessen the influence of corporate contributions in elections. On February 2, 2013, presumptive Democratic nominee Barbara Buono's campaign reported that it had surpassed the $380,000 mark.[30] By that time, Christie's campaign had already raised $2 million. Unlike in 2009, Christie declined to use matching funds in the 2013 primary, but he decided in August to opt into the program for the general election phase. Under the program, Christie was eligible for an additional $8 million, approximately. The terms also stated that he had to participate in two debates with Buono before Nov. 5.[30][41]

In New Jersey, qualified candidates who choose to accept public funds may not spend more than $12.2 million on their gubernatorial campaigns. The maximum amount of public funds that any candidate may receive is $8.2 million.[42] New Jersey employs a two-to-one matching program for qualified contributions. It is detailed in Title 19 Chapter 25 Sub Chapter 15 of the New Jersey State Statutes.